Sounds We Already Know f, R, l, s, w, y

The Alutiiq letter f is equivalent to the English f, as in food. It appears in words borrowed from Russian and English.

Example word: faRanaq (lantern; Southern Kodiak sub-dialect)

R sounds like English r as in run. It only appears in words borrowed from Russian and English. The reason the R is written in small caps is to distinguish it from the regular Alutiiq r. The capital Russian R is written identical to the capital Alutiiq R, so on the rare occasion where a word begins with Russian R and starts a sentence, the speaker has to be familiar with the proper sound for that word.

Example word: witRuuq (pail)

L in Alutiiq is equivalent to the English l sound as in low.

Example word: laampaaq (lamp)

S in Alutiiq sounds like English s as in Sam. In some areas of the Alutiiq World, like in Karluk and Afognak, s is pronounced more like sh. When s falls between two single vowels a, i, or u in a word, it sounds more like z.

Example word: saqul'aq (duck)

Example word: isumaq (raisin)

Example word: isuwiq (seal)